1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems for cooling air within a building structure and, more particularly, to combined cooling systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, it has been known to use devices to evaporatively cool air within building structures whether they be residential or commercial. It is known that heat from the sun may cause structures which house people to heat up resulting in uncomfortable temperatures within such structures. It is often desired by people for systems to be employed to reduce the temperatures within these naturally overheated structures. Various cooling systems exist for such purposes. Often such cooling systems focus on circulating air within the structures and cooling the air by means of evaporative cooling and/or refrigeration cycles. Often there are spaces such as attics or overhead crawlspaces which are not cooled. Since heat flows from a high to a low, any duct work present in such spaces is heated by the hotter air within such space thereby minimizing the effect of the air conditioning. Therefore there is a need for a cooling system which effectively and efficiently cools overhead spaces thereby maximizing the operation of the entire cooling system which maintains comfortable temperatures in the human occupied space of structures. Some improvements have been made in the field. Examples include but are not limited to the references described below, which references are incorporated by reference herein:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,601, entitled Structural Cooling Systems And Methods, discloses an evaporative cooling system. Specifically, there is a structural cooling system which includes an evaporative cooler suitable for cooling a body of air in an upper, enclosed chamber of a structure, such as an attic, and a series of vents or ducts, particularly around the perimeter of the building, for applying the cooled air selectively to high heat-gain portions of the exterior of the structure. An interior cooling system, which may include an air-conditioning unit, is suitable for cooling the interior of the building, but will require only reduced capacity, because of the cooling effect on the structure's exterior.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,075, entitled Evaporative Air Cooling Apparatus, discloses an evaporative cooling system. Specifically, there is an evaporative cooler apparatus and method of operation that was conceived and developed to humidify and cool the attic space between the roof and the ceiling of man-made buildings or other structures. The apparatus is comprised of an induced draft fan assembly which blows air through an evaporation bundle comprised of one or more concentric cylinders of fibrous evaporation pads. The most advantageous embodiments of the invention and optimum parameters of operation result in reduced costs for installation, for evaporation water, for electrical power, and for service and maintenance as compared with devices of the prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,965, entitled Evaporative Roof Cooling System, discloses an evaporative cooling system. Specifically, there is an evaporative roof cooling system for placement upon a roof surface exposed to relatively high levels of solar radiation. The system includes water distribution piping and a plurality of mist/spray nozzles positioned on the roof surface for supplying a uniform spray of water thereover to lay down a substantially uniform thin film of water on the roof surface. A solenoid-controlled valve controls the supply of water to the system over periods during which the temperature of the roof surface is measured to be within a predetermined temperature range. A thermistor, encapsulated in an epoxy block, is affixed to the roof surface and monitors and measures the actual roof temperature. Cooling systems control circuitry, in electric communication with the thermistor and the solenoid-controlled valve, compares the electric resistance value developed by the thermistor and a range of current values related to the predetermined temperature range and directs the opening of such valve when the termister senses the high point temperature of such range and the closing of such valve when the thermister senses the low point temperature of such range whereby the mist/sprays of water discharged from the nozzles evaporatively cool the roof surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,480, entitled Evaporative Cooling Device and Process, discloses an evaporative cooling system. Specifically, there is an evaporative cooling unit which fits within a building wall. The evaporative cooling unit includes a remote fan which pulls air through the unit into a space to be cooled and also exhausts warm air from the space.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,696, entitled Method And Apparatus For Cooling Air And Water, discloses an evaporative cooling system. Specifically, there is an invention that provides a method and apparatus for efficiently using various components as a system for cooling air. The apparatus uses the combination of an evaporative cooler, a refrigerated air system with a water-cooled condenser, a swimming pool pump, and a swimming pool or other bulk water storage container. A pump or series of pumps are used to supply water to the evaporative cooler and to the water-cooled condenser from the swimming pool. After the swimming pool water has been supplied to the other components in the system, it is returned to the swimming pool. During cooler weather, the output air from the evaporative cooler is supplied to a series of ducts and is used to cool the interior of a structure such as a home. When the outside ambient temperature and/or humidity levels exceeds the capabilities of the evaporative cooler for cooling the interior of the structure to the desired temperature, the output air from the evaporative cooler is re-directed to the attic space of the structure and the refrigerated air from the refrigerated air system is used to cool the interior of the structure. By using the output air from the evaporative cooler to cool the attic space, the overall cooling load on the refrigerated air system is reduced. In addition, the use of the water from the swimming pool to condense the refrigerant vapors will enable the system to achieve even greater efficiency and will provide an added benefit of lowering the temperature of the water stored in the swimming pool.
U.S. Pat. Des. 244,294, entitled Evaporative Cooler, discloses an ornamental design for an evaporative cooler.
The inventions heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantages which include unduly complex, limited application, difficult to operate, difficult to install, unduly large, unreliable, and/or fail to independently and/or exclusively cool the attic space effectively, efficiently and/or conveniently.
What is needed is an attic evaporative cooling system that solves one or more of the problems described herein and/or one or more problems that may come to the attention of one skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with this specification.